5-star C James Wiseman has Arizona in his final 8

The Wildcats are in the mix for the No. 1 player in the country

The Arizona Wildcats are in the mix for the No. 1 player in the country.

2019 center James Wiseman told PrepCircuit.com Saturday that his eight finalists are Arizona, Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Memphis, Texas, and Vanderbilt.

Kentucky and Memphis are considered the frontrunners for Wiseman, but here is why Arizona intrigues him:

“They did have Deandre Ayton, who ended up being the number one pick in the draft. When you look at this past season they played through DeAndre Ayton by playing inside and out. I really like their program a lot because of how they play. Coach Miller is a great coach and I have a feeling that I’d fit into their system well. Arizona is a great school.”

The 6-foot-11, 210-pound Wiseman attends East High School in Memphis, Tennessee. He has a 7-foot-4 wingspan.

Here is what SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell wrote about Wiseman, who he deemed as the most agile big man in his class.

The No. 1 player in the country is typically a name brand by the time he starts his junior year of high school. That isn’t the case for James Wiseman, a 6’11 big man who shot up to No. 1 after R.J. Barrett reclassified up a year. Wiseman may lack the notoriety that typically comes with his prestigious ranking, but he used the camp to show why scouts think so highly of him as a long-term prospect.

Wiseman looks the part of a new-age center. He’s fast up-and-down the floor and showed good lateral quickness defensively. He also seems to be just scratching the surface with his offensive skill set. Wiseman showed off a promising jumper and even attempted to pull off some crossover dribble moves when he got the ball at the top of the key.

Wiseman said he patterns his game after Anthony Davis and Kevin Garnett, the prototypes for the athletic, face-up big man who wins with speed, agility and skill over brute force. You can see the rough outline of that type of player starting to form.

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